Hey can someone explain this position? You see it a lot on the internet - we all know it's just short for the mouthful of "The United States of America", right?
Is it just garden variety anti-Americanism, or is it based on something else? You also see the form "American means anyone from both continents," which is off in exactly the same way.
In the case of that topic, the answer to your question is always located in the tone of the person you're replying to.
No one from Canada or Mexico would say “I am an American”. You only here that from someone from the USA. So whatever the official title is the popular usage is that is some says they are “American” it means they are a citizen of the United States Of America.